A Semi-Fruitless Search
by MichaelCross
Summary: Summary within. Has spoilers for 'Evolution Shinji' within. One-shot.


A Semi-Fruitless Search

Disclaimer; I do not own Agents of SHIELD. Wish I did, though.

Author's Notes; This takes place during 'Providence' while Ward and Garrett are raiding the 'Fridge'. Mentions within of 'Evolution Shinji', along with teasers of future scenes. Enjoy!

As he watches his excitedly giddy mentor root through the drawers, boxes and anything that can hold items, HYDRA mole Grant Ward soon notices the man start to frown.

"Could've sworn they'd be here too."

"What are you talking about, sir?" At Ward's query, John Garrett turns toward his protégé, a deep frown appearing on his visage.

"A technological marvel from another dimension. One that can greatly benefit HYDRA once reverse-engineered." Ward can't help but raise his eyebrows incredulously before smirking.

"You've got to be pulling my leg, sir."

"Oh, I assure you, I'm not pulling your leg." At seeing the disbelief on Ward's face, Garrett asks, "Do you recall the 'Junior Operative' program I told you that Fury's old man cooked up?"

"Some, but you were rather vague on the details."

"That's because I was still coming to terms with what I saw." Going back to searching, he goes on. "One of the first JOs was Agent Shinji Ikari."

"In SHIELD's Tokyo Japan division, right?" At Garrett's nod, Ward says, "I remember meeting him once a month before I got posted to Coulson's team. Both he and his wife."

"Ah, X-23. So full of determination and fire." Sighing nostalgically, Garrett turns back toward Ward. "Did you know she was created by HYDRA as a cloning experiment from one of the strongest mutants in the world as an assassin for HYDRA?"

"I'm familiar with the briefing regarding 'Weapon X', but little else."

"Well, believe me, had that spitfire known about us being HYDRA plants before going on maternity leave for their first set of triplets… both our heads would be on their wall as trophies, along with Viper's. And don't get me started on what he would've done to us at her side." Garrett shudders at that before resuming his search before Ward clears his throat.

"I'm listening."

"He Piloted a massive bio-mechanoid named Evangelion. The sack of shit calling itself his birth Father ran the organization chartered to protect the world from giant aliens the organization called 'Angels'. Why they did that, I'll never know. There were three active Pilots, with him having had the most kills. Of course, there were two other Pilots, but one had almost been killed when his Evangelion was taken over by an Angel and the other one turned out to be the last Angel. Were it not for Agent Ikari's actions, the Pilot of the taken-over Evangelion would have been maimed or dead."

"Sounds like you admire him."

"In a way, I do. Matter of fact, I wish I could've met him… before."

"Before the IED in Sarajevo? Before you joined HYDRA under SHIELD's nose? Before… me?"

"I wish I'd met him in the 10th grade." Shrugging, he goes on. "In any case, the Evangelions were controlled purely by thought, little else in terms of physical controls other than butterfly handles for the weaponry. Of course, when all was said and done, the sack of shit and the lead scientist had pronounced him property of the organization, even if his part in the war was finished."

"But, if the 'Angels' were all defeated, what purpose would the organization have had?"

"None really, but the sack of shit wanted to punish Shinji out of spite for refusing to kill the rest of the world in a bid to regain the kid's Mother." Ward can't help but feel his eyes bulge out in shock.

"HE WHAT?"

"That's right. While the 'Angel attacks were bad enough, they didn't hold a candle to what that sack of shit, and those above him, had in mind for the world." Snorting, Garrett goes on. "Even more, one of the other active Pilots, an abrasive redhead German girl, tried to compete repeatedly with X-23 for Shinji's heart. She even offered to 'share' Shinji with X-23. When they refused, she told Shinji his place was with her in Tokyo-3, not X-23 in this world."

"What'd he do?"

"He challenged the redhead to a match, with the stakes being simple. He wins, he goes. She wins, he stays."

"I take it she didn't like losing?" At Garrett's snicker, Ward knows he hit the nail on the head.

"Not one bit. When she tried protesting that he'd somehow cheated, X-23 'Gibbs-slapped' her, hard, and knocked her unconscious."

"I wish I could've seen that."

"I wish you had too. Of course, Shinji's Tokyo-3 Guardian was reluctant to let him go, but respected his wish. When she hugged him good-bye, she had tears in her eyes before she pecked his cheek."

"What about the sack of shit and head scientist? I'm sure they'd have tried stopping his departure."

"Oh, they did. However, Shinji's Evangelion held them back, courtesy of the soul of Shinji's Mother." Garrett cracks up raucously, adding, "It was so funny to hear the sack of shit screaming, 'YUI?! WHY?!'. Of course, he never got any response, but the Evangelion looked toward Shinji and its left eye dripped… a tear before its head nodded."

"Okay. So, what're you looking for?"

"I'm about to get there. Upon our return from Tokyo-3, Shinji went right into surgery, X-23 assisting in terms of transfusing her blood into him. With Dr Jones isolating her accelerated healing factor into his body while the anchor points for the neural-control interfaces were removed from his head. Had I not been so jaded and cynical in my time with SHIELD after agreeing to serve HYDRA, I'd have found her holding a vigil at his bedside while he recovered post-op romantic."

"Wouldn't her AHF have helped him heal?"

"It did, but combine that with exhaustion over the time back in his world, he'd wound up sleeping a solid 48 hours. The only thing that kept her from going into tears while he recovered was his breathing without assistance." Not having looked back toward Ward while searching, he adds, "When Shinji woke back up, Fury told him the removal was a success and asked him what should be done with the anchor points and neural-control interfaces. Made it entirely up to him whether they should be analyzed or submitted to 'Slingshot'. He selected 'Slingshot' and Fury nodded his understanding." Putting it together, Ward smirks.

"With Fury Senior's habit of locking items supposedly jettisoned via 'Slingshot' in here, you were expecting them to be here."

"Yeah. Damn his ass!" Slamming his left fist down onto a shelf, Garrett starts chuckling. "He must've thought that even a marvel like them would be a bad idea to have on hand, so he had them chucked into the sun."

"I guess. But, one thing's bugging me. How'd Ikari get here, back to there and back to here again?"

"In that order, Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme at the request of Ikari's Mother while his Evangelion was in the Dirac Sea of the 12th Angel, Apocalypse jettisoned both he and X-23 into the entry plug of the Evangelion and Dr Strange. For keeps, with an occasional visit by Misato, Shinji's guardian from Tokyo-3, courtesy of, of course..."

"Dr Strange." Garrett's nod gets Ward to smirk. "When was the last time he saw her?"

"About five years ago, at their wedding. Much to his surprise, she wasn't alone. She had a guy named Ryoji Kaji with her, along with Pilots Sohryu and Ayanami. Sohryu glared daggers at X-23 through the wedding and reception until Shinji snapped and told her it was because she was such a bitch he picked X-23 and not her." Sighing, he finishes with, "But that's a story for another time."


End file.
